Coronavirus wrap April 3: Here are the top developments of the day

In India, as per the Health Ministry's latest updates, the number of positive cases stands at 2,547, of which 62 people have already lost their lives to the virulent outbreak.

Moneycontrol News

April 03, 2020 / 21:27 IST

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The number of COVID-19 cases across the globe is rising by the hour, inching closer to breach the 1 million mark. The pandemic, having made its way into about 207 countries or territories, has already claimed as many as 50,000 lives as of April 3, 2020.

In India, as per the Health Ministry's latest updates, the number of positive cases stands at 2,547, of which 62 people have already lost their lives to the viral infection.

Also Read | Coronavirus pandemic: The mental agony of working from home and how to deal with itHere are the key developments as on April 3:

>> Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the country via a video message. He urged people to come together in solidarity on April 5 at 9 pm. As a show of support, he asked everyone to switch off the lights in their homes, stand in their balconies with candles, diyas, or mobile flashlights and torch lights, for 9 minutes.

>> Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot tweeted saying that there has been a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases reported in the state in the past 24 hours. He said that in light of this critical situation, a team from the WHO will be visiting the Tonk district in the state to conduct a survey.

Also Read | India may not lift coronavirus lockdown before September, study says

>> The World Bank approved an emergency fund of $1 billion for India on the evening of April 2. The fund is meant to support the country's efforts to tackle the coronavirus outbreak and help in better screening, contact tracing and lab diagnostics, procurement of personal protective equipment and setting up of isolation wards.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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